Four amigos regroup with much delay and difficulty upon hearing devastating October 09 news about the closing of their beloved GOURMET MAGAZINE. Please join us now in our revised culinary hobby of dreams. Stick with us through THICK and THIN as we fumble and create and morph and bake and even disappear for a moment or so. Remembering that in some form or another we will be back, egged on by our fearless leader SAUCY SMITH. Our mission (& we have chosen to accept it): COOKING OUR HEARTS OUT.

Monday

How IT ALL Began....

Inspirations are a gift. They come my way like Christmas presents. Regularly from various sources..... books, magazines, television programs, movies , something a friend says.... you name it . And not only am I inspired , I act on these motivations.... often , or as much as I can, or when appropriate....

Well, its happened again. And during a time when I least expected it. But then I never REALLY expect it.....

So I am reading Vanity Fair; the recent one with Heath Ledger's picture on the cover. I come across the article about Julia Child. Fascinating. Of course, I do LOVE to cook.....

Then a day or so later I am reading a book of short stories" Secret Ingredients" written by a bunch of food writers from the New Yorker . There it is again. This time a piece written by the kitchen wizard herself, Julia Child. ( I'm using the word "wizard".... the "feminine" version of this noun is totally inappropriate!) I'm loving her writing and the article. But that's that.... nothing more yet.

Next I'm grabbing a bottle of water at the Toronto airport en route to Paris. Books surrounding me in the store. My eyes settle on one. Julie and Julia. Meryl Streep on the cover. Hmmmm. What's that? I buy it on impulse.

I didn't stop till I finished the book. I loved it. The whole idea of it. The cooking. The blog. The fun of it. The hassles. The tears and the laughs. And I wanted to do it myself. Because I was( am) fully caught up in the energy of Julie Powell's experience. Because of how much I enjoy cooking. Creating. Feeding my friends. My loved ones. Because I crave the challenge of it all. Because I like to write. Because. Because. Because.

HOWEVER.... I can not cook the same things and in the same way as Julie did in her project. No way. That won't do. I had to come up with my own thing....It took the rest of my time in Paris to figure it out. That and a conversation with good old Ace when I arrived home. ( More on Ace later, but note for now.... as of the date of this blog entry, he is debating the use of the name "Ace" . So that might change....I will let you know .)

O.K. Here is my plan.... its become "our" plan,actually:

We, the lobstersandwich gang. The four of us. Have a secret vice. Not everyone knows about it. It is not obvious during the daytime . But mostly at night. That's when IT comes out. That "side" of us that we explore when we return separately to our homes. It is.... ok... it is an addiction.... all right, I said it.

All 4 of us. Each and everyone. Are addicted ...to cooking. We love to cook. Simple as that.

So together we have made this plan. This vow. Since we do it anyway. Every night. Like clock work. We cook. Now we will cook with a new purpose. We will challenge ourselves with this project. And we announce it now , BEFORE AUGUST 6 when the movie Julie and Julia hits the theaters.....

Starting OCTOBER 1, 2009 and for a full 12 months going forward ( yeah, 12 months, sez Bret..... love that Flight of the Conchords tv show.... Hey reader,if you are into that show say it with Bret's accent each time you read a reference here in this blog, ok? "yeah")

WE WILL COOK each month EVERY RECIPE in the index of GOURMET magazine. For 12 whole months starting in October we will do this. And that's a lot of recipes !

Specifically. Once Oct 1 arrives we start cooking the entire October issue. We will cook in our separate homes. Sometimes we will cook or eat together, but not always. We will sometimes cook and invite friends. We will have parties or feed our families or eat alone. Anything goes.

We will NOT EACH cook every recipe. But among us EVERY recipe for the month ( in the month) will be cooked. Sometimes more than once. And we don't have a precise plan of execution. Except the rule of "the entire month in the month". We will.... see how it all unfolds!! For twelve full months in a row!!!

Plus. Each month the magazine reviews a cookbook. Well we will purchase that cookbook and make one meal per month out of that book. And that dinner we will cook and eat together at my place.

We will write about the whole experience here,on this blog "lobstersandwich"

We have a plan to deal with the calorie overload( and potential consequences). We are hiring a trainer. ( trainer's name to follow) To meet with us once a week. To advise,consult and coach us. We'd like to at least "look the same as we do now" one year into this adventure. It CAN be done.....

One just offered their private dining room( equipped with a kitchen) anytime they are closed and we want to host some of our cooking by way of a larger dinner party. That wonderful FFRO said" Think of it as your "downstairs living room, Saucy"...( that's me," Saucy"). I said "okey doaky and thank you very much because we will be taking you up on that one.... Are you in,readers? Get your name on the list..... "Yeah,get ur name on the list" said Bret)

By the way dear reader. I am writing this intro to my blog while I am flying to Toronto on a day when the sky is crystal clear but the turbulence is gut wrenchingly horrid. ( And me, a very nervous flyer) So here is a statement on my enthusiasm for our project :

I am so excited. So psyched to get the blog up and running and the project launched. I am writing away ,plane jerking left ,right, up, down. A lot. And my boyfriend/partner "Bacon Boy" only has 4 arm bruises from my death grip instead of the usual 10. ( After a choppy plane ride with the panicked me, ( "Oh (sob) honey,"I squeak ,"we are going to DIE.....") He ( my B.B.) regularly needs a visit to his chrio, Dr. Jake, for at least a minor adjustment.....)

I want to introduce to you the cast of characters in this adventure. But a few things first.

Why GOURMET MAGAZINE? Well.... the recipes are usually great, reliable, user friendly, scrumptious, lip smacking.... I have subscribed to the publication for over 10 years ( actually, the time is much longer, but I'm not telling). I greatly admire Ruth Reichl , the editor. I am a big fan, I guess..... I know.....and she totally inspires me. I have never met her but her amazing energy comes through in every line she writes. ( Plus Bacon Boys sez "She's hot")

And isn't it just the greatest to be able to say" We cooked absolutely everything in the magazine for a full year" What a feat. Everyone knows and loves that magazine.( Thank you Ruth, and all the contributors)

We are saying to ourselves. Look. We work all day and then cook dinner almost every night anyways. So no big deal. We are doing what we do regularly,but with a new focus. ( We are such an optimistic bunch)

The cast of characters( names not all finalized at the time of this writing so subject to change WITH NOTICE):

Your primary author and cook,me, "Saucy"

My 3 trusty sidekicks in cooking"Babette", "Ace" and "Gary".

Not to mention our partners,wives or husbands whom will occasionally contribute and always support. Mine,of course, is "Bacon Boy". ( B. B. is a sweetie and a looker) .Babette is married to "the hunk" Martin. Ace lives with and is now embarking on a "long distance" romance with the lovely and talented" Katie". And Gary. Gary met and married the ravishing and accomplished "Annie". Also within the group there are friends, children,relatives,pets and more on all that l8r.

So, to our readers. Greetings from us all. Please log in and read and comment as we gear up for our October 1st launch. ( And here's a little request , even if you know our real identities ..... Let's NOT mention them in the blog or in your comments. A little mystery never hurts !!!) A warm welcome to and a large cheer for LOBSTERSANDWICH *.

*Oh. We will have many views,ideas and recipes for the ultimate lobster dishes. Aside from our GOURMET magazine cooking. Just as a little extra. ( because obviously, we need a few extras!)

For instance,a week ago I made THE PERFECT lobster roll. It coulda been a sandwich. I brushed the outside of a top split hot dog bun with some homemade garlic butter( ok to use store bought in a pinch). I broiled the bun. I bought perfectly cooked lobsters from the market . I chopped up "large" chunks of tail ,claw and knuckle meat. I sucked out the legs as I worked.( B.B. has a snapshot of me suckin on a leg like a bubble gum cigarette. ....no, you cannot see it.... its only for Bacon Boy... ) I mixed up the meat with some Hellmans (full fat,please), some fresh squeezed lemon juice, chopped fresh chives and a tiny bit of finely chopped celery and s&p. ( almost forgot to mention the celery) And Presto. Stuff the mixture in that warm bun. Yum. OMG.... Its some good,you.... Try it.

Glad to hear you recouped your lobster loss from Aug.1. Looking forward to following the blog and hope to help you dispose of the fruits of your labour in the future. If I offer too much help,however, I too will be developing a new close relationship-with a personal trainer! Hugs to Sausy and cheers to all! Good on you! MM